17U NCL National Championship
A weekend for the history books!! The 17U girls made the big trek to Alberta to participate in the National tournament. Our first game was Thursday against the Calgary Renegades. Calgary taught us a few things about this game: they stuck to their player like glue and had a super fast passing game.
That is not to say we didn't get our shots in! Our defense stepped up in the second half but ultimately the Renegades took it 14-6 but our brick wall goalie managed to stop 21 other shots on net!
The Kraken-Titans team didn't let this get us down! We came back with renewed determination against CAMO. Our offense started out strong and we scored right away... and kept on scoring! Alexia made a great breakaway shot and smiled for the fans! Stealing the ball became second nature to us making for lots of turnovers and chances to score! Poor CAMO took the fall with a 12-8 loss to the reigning Eastern champs!
The next morning the Kraken-Titans were ready for battle against another western team. It turned out to be the most exciting game of the weekend! Surrey Tsunami was going to get a fight from us. The refs were also in fine form calling all the fouls but that meant that the fans got a show from Eva who stopped at least five 5m shots on net! It was spectacular! (We managed to get 7 KO ourselves - maybe a record for us?)
Kraken-Titans scored the first goal of the game and the offense didn't quit. We had Surrey shaking in their suits. The goals were back and forth, a really close game. During one scrimmage Ellie made a spectacular block saving a goal. We were tied going into the last few minutes of the game, parents on the edge of their seats! We took 25 shots on the Surrey net but only 10 went in. Then Surrey slipped two more past us to advance to the medal round. WE WERE SO CLOSE!! What a fantastic game!
Defeated but not down...we move on to play the Shadow where we put Alexandra into net. She showed us she didn't leave her skills back in Ontario! Kraken-Titans was on fire offensively and the passes clean and quick. The poor Shadow didn't know what hit them and they suffered a 15-7 loss.
Saturday morning brings us face to face with our archnemesis the Mavericks. Our name should be changed to the Queens of Thievery as the ball was stolen from the Mavs so many times, Sarah A plucking it out of their clutches 3 times herself!
Kraken-Titans stayed strong and persistent with great defense in front of the net. We were not giving up without a fight. Goals racked up by Lily, Sarah A and Karima helped the cause and a surprise goal from Sarah B sealed the deal. Kraken-Titans take the win 14-8 proving no matter where we play we are still the best of the East!!
Overall it was a great experience and now the Kraken-Titans know what they have to do to win it next time. The girls enjoyed their time together in the beautiful city of Calgary and great memories were made, especially at the gala... apparently crowd surfing is still a thing... lol
by Erika Alexander
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